Page 16 - DMGT507_SALES AND PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT

Sales and Promotions Management

Notes
Did u know? AIDA theory was developed by American advertising and sales pioneer, E. St.
Elmo Lewis in 1898. He created his AIDA (Attention/Awareness, Interest, Desire and
Action) funnel model on customer studies in the US life insurance market to explain the
mechanisms of personal selling. Later evolutions of the theory have edited the AIDA steps
and therefore, another step- satisfaction- has been added. Psychological writings of William
James (original thinker in and between the disciplines of physiology, psychology and
philosophy) also support this theory.

This theory is based on the premise that during a sales presentation, the prospect
consciously goes through five different stages: Awareness/Attention, Interest, Desire,
Action and Satisfaction. The details of five components of AIDAS theory are as follows.

Awareness/Attention
The salesperson should attract the prospect to his presentation before he actually goes into the
details of the same.
1. This is to ensure that the prospect becomes receptive to the presentation.
2. Unless the salesperson involves the prospect’s mind in the presentation, his total effort
may go unnoticed or unregistered.
3. Drawing the prospect’s attention, therefore, is tantamount to dissociating him from other
assignments and involving him in the presentation, both physically and mentally, so as to
gain maximum from the sales meeting.

Interest

The salesperson should ensure that the prospect remains glued to his presentation throughout
its length and that he does not wander away from the same.
The salesperson should be make efforts to know the interests, likes, dislikes, attitude and
motivation of the prospect and should proceed with the presentation, keeping in view all these
factors.

Desire

The salesperson should consciously try to bring the prospect into this stage of readiness to the
point of buying his product.
1. He should concentrate on projecting the benefits of his product to the prospect. He should
go even to the extent of presenting benefits according to the motivation of the prospect.
For example, if the prospect is motivated more by safety need, then an insurance salesman
can put stress on the safety benefits provided by the insurance plans he is offering.
2. The salesperson should also be prepared to anticipate the resistance to his sales presentation
in terms of objections or questions from the prospect.
3. Not only that, he should be prepared with several answers and explanations to the
anticipated objections.

Action

Once the salesperson has been successful in taking his prospect through the three stages, as
discussed above, he should induce the prospects into actually buying the product.

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